Latest news with #Heffernan
The 42
13-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
‘Male coaches get away with a lot more on the sideline than I do'
SOME 136 PEOPLE have obtained their Uefa Pro Licence with the Football Association of Ireland since the course's inception in 2009. Of that number, three are women. Sue Ronan and Eileen Gleeson have both had stints managing the Irish national team, while Laura Heffernan is the current head coach of DLR Waves. Heffernan is the most recent graduate. Her 2024 course included former Ireland internationals Paul McShane, David Meyler, Sean St Ledger and Glenn Whelan, as well as Waterford Women's manager Gary Hunt and Bohemians men's assistant boss Stephen O'Donnell. Last December, when expressions of interest for the 2025/26 Uefa Pro Licence were sought, a press release noted: '136 coaches have completed the Uefa Pro Licence through FAI Coach Education and currently, 94 of those coaches are active within the game.' That 94 figure includes Heffernan, who was appointed manager of DLR Waves just over two years ago. But 'active within the game' does not necessarily constitute employment in the football industry. Instead, Heffernan is a full-time sales representative and administrator with Balon Sportswear. The Wexford native has been involved in senior football in Ireland for 27 years and first became a manager, with Wexford Youths, in 2017. On balancing the two, Heffernan says: 'It's quite hectic from January to October, it's a lot of hours, and not a lot of free time during that period. So, it can be a bit exhausting, but I suppose it's just the nature of where we are at the moment in women's football in Ireland; the industry just isn't there. And it's quite difficult to put work aside for a full commitment to football.' Heffernan, who turns 41 this year, works from her home in Wexford, and in the evening makes the trip up to Beckett Park three times a week for training, and then travels again for matches at the weekend. 'It's probably an hour, 20, up and back,' she says of the journey to Cherrywood. 'It is quite a big commitment, but not as bad as Northside with Shelbourne [Heffernan had a stint coaching the Reds' underage team]. So it seems a lot closer when you've done that journey for three years.' While it is far from ideal for a pro licence holder managing in the top division in the country, Heffernan understands it is the reality of working in women's football in Ireland. When asked whether there would ever come a point where she might become fed up with the lack of resources and limitations, and end her involvement in sport, she responds: 'I've said that at the start of every season for the last 10 years. 'But it's a labour of love. And that's whether you're a coach or a player. And I see the girls, we do three pitch sessions a week. We have our game at the weekend. They're doing their extra one-to-ones or gym sessions on the alternate days, they're getting up at six, seven o'clock in the morning to go to college, leaving college, to come straight to training, and home late and up early the next morning. And that's 10 months of the year. 'And they're giving up their Saturdays to travel all over the country, and they get practically nothing to do it so, you have to wonder how much more we can push all these players and how much more we can ask from them when, on top of that, they're probably trying to fit in part-time jobs just to make ends meet. 'And so we have to seriously start asking the questions of how much more we can professionalise the game and keep pushing these players if we don't have anything to offer them.' Advertisement It has been a difficult start to the season for DLR Waves. Leah Scholes / INPHO Leah Scholes / INPHO / INPHO The fact that DLR Waves are rooted to the bottom of the Women's Premier Division with four points from 11 games does not make it any easier. 'The reality is we're working off a budget that's probably a quarter of the teams in the top half of the table. So it's always going to be difficult, the other side of that is when you look at the names of the clubs, sometimes it's hard to attract players when you're competing against the clubs in Dublin with those big names, players will always tend to veer towards the Shamrock Rovers or Shelbournes.' Despite the disappointing results of late, Heffernan says progress has been made at the club as a whole in recent times, pointing to success at underage level and the development of their academy, with the promotion of young footballers key to DLR Waves' strategy. Keeping hold of players is a recurring issue, however. Heffernan recalls a particularly challenging season in 2023, the year she was appointed manager. 'We lost 15 of the squad of 20 or something like that. It was pretty colossal. So when I took the job, it was a lot of trying to stabilise what was there.' Heffernan is one of only two female managers in the Women's Premier Division — the other being Peamount's Emma Donoghue. She acknowledges that the lack of Irish female representatives in coaching is not ideal. 'I still think there is a level of or a lack of respect there at times,' she says. 'Even in terms of games, I think some of the male coaches get away with a lot more on the sideline than I do. 'And I think there is an in-between, of course. A lot of the guys in the league this year are really good guys. I have a really good relationship with a lot of the coaches. 'But it hasn't always been that way over the years either, and I do still think there is a lack of respect there for female coaches, and it's something that we just have to keep pushing and trying to change. 'You have to have a bit of a hard skin at times, and let some things brush off and not let it affect you.' Asked to elaborate on her point about sideline behaviour, Heffernan adds: 'A lot of the time, the lads can be fairly animated and get away with saying certain things to officials and whatnot. And I find a lot of the time that if I question something, it's not taken as seriously. That's just the way it is. 'And I think with the lads, especially anyone who has played in the League of Ireland or whatever, they just seem to get a lot more respect. And that's been the way for many years. 'I don't know how you change that, other than just keep trying to do what we're doing and keep plugging away and doing the job — the easy thing to do, I suppose, would be just to walk away. 'I've openly spoken about some courses that I didn't feel overly comfortable on. I've had the same situation as a lot of other female coaches that I've spoken about, where you're asked if you're the physio when you arrive at the games and things like that — a few years back, not as much now.' Then-Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni speaks to coaches as part of their Pro Licence in 2012. Donall Farmer / INPHO Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO Heffernan does not regret undertaking the Uefa Pro Licence course. It has at least raised her profile in the game and means she is less likely to get mistaken for the physio. She also speaks highly of the people running it, describing the experience as 'one of the most enjoyable things that I've ever done'. But at the same time, the opportunities she has been afforded since then do not seem significantly greater — she took over the head coach role at DLR Waves before graduating. 'As proud as I am to have the pro licence, I would still say, for me, it probably doesn't hold as much weight to other people as what any of the lads that got it, it doesn't hold the same kind of perception, than if one of the males who have their pro licence have, so it can be a challenge, it can be difficult, but it's something that we buy into, and we're wanting to change.' She continues: 'I do genuinely feel that it doesn't hold as much weight as it would for the other 19 candidates that were in the room at the time. 'As great as it is to have, I'm not sure right now where we are with women's football in this country, it's changed opportunities here within Ireland.' Even for male coaches, having a pro licence is far from a guarantee of full-time employment, while being without one is not necessarily an impediment. Irish national team manager Carla Ward and Joey O'Brien, who has just been appointed Shelbourne's permanent manager, are among those without one, though the latter has confirmed he is enrolled on the 2025-26 course, which begins later this year, and Ward is also working towards gaining one. Given this state of affairs, it seems understandable why many women would be reluctant to pursue the pro licence. 'There are a lot of female coaches who are working full time. They've got kids. They're juggling everyday life. It's not as easy to give up your time to go on and commit to something like that, because it's 18 months of really, really hard work. Obviously, there's a cost involved as well. 'The problem is the football industry for women is just not here at the moment, and for the time and investment that goes into getting to that point, there are practically no full-time jobs available to make use of it. 'And so I can understand why a lot of females, especially, don't put that final bit of commitment in to go and finish the A licence or the B or the pro licence, because there's very little that you can do when you come out of it that's going to pay to be a football coach.' Regardless of whether they have a pro licence, Heffernan believes 'we're still quite a bit off' appointing female coaches to top jobs in the men's game and says she 'wouldn't begrudge any of the lads working in the Premier Division,' adding: 'A lot of them are ex-players that have come through, and they've given their time, and they've helped build the league to where it is for probably a lot less than what the players are on now. 'I suppose the thing for me is, if you flip it to the women's game, I'd be under no illusions that if somebody with an A licence or a B licence male was to apply for a job in the women's game, the chances are they probably would get it before I would.' Former Ireland boss Eileen Gleeson is one of three women to secure a Uefa Pro Licence through the FAI course. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO In addition to her application, Heffernan had to come through two 'intense' interviews to gain one of the 20 spots on the 2024 course. As well as the low number of places available and the fact that courses only take place every two years, another prohibitive factor is the cost. The FAI have been reluctant to publicly disclose the fee for taking the course, but the equivalent FA-run course in England is listed as £13,700, and that only accounts for the pro licence. Such figures are pocket money for a recently retired footballer who has played in the Premier League, but it is a substantial sum for people like Heffernan who have devoted their careers to the far less lucrative women's game. 'I don't think we're the most expensive,' she says. 'I don't think we're the cheapest either across Europe. It does vary from country to country. 'But it is a big investment, from your first badge to your last badge, when the employment opportunities aren't where we'd like them to be.' Still, though, while football may not have made her rich, Heffernan has no regrets about the life she has pursued. 'As many challenges as I faced over the last 10 years, I wouldn't change a day of it. As much as there have been hard sides to it, I've had some unbelievable experiences through football, whether that's been travelling away to Champions League [games] or winning titles. And some of those are days that you remember for the rest of your life.'
Irish Independent
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Obituary: Seán Doherty, imposing captain who lifted Dublin's first Sam Maguire Cup in 11 years
That success, sudden and unexpected, had a revolutionary impact in popularising the game in the capital, where it had suffered from public apathy and disinterest. Soccer, which was enjoying increasing television exposure, had been the more pervasive influence on young followers. The team managed by Kevin Heffernan and captained by Doherty offered a compelling and home-grown alternative. For those accustomed to the popularity and success of the Dublin football team now, the difference then could not be more pronounced. Dublin defender Robbie Kelleher told the story of a teacher in Fairview in the early 1970s who asked a class of 15- and 16-year-olds to name one Dublin footballer. Nobody could. After GAA president Dr Donal Keenan presented the Sam Maguire Cup to Doherty in the Hogan Stand in September 1974, that indifference evaporated. Doherty had come into the Dublin set-up in the late 1960s when their stock was low. That gave him a deeper appreciation of success when it arrived. When he lifted the cup in 1974, he was already 28. 'I think one of the worst years was probably 1972,' Doherty said last year of the lean times. 'We played Cork in Croke Park in the league and there were only three guys on the Hill.' Hill 16 soon became transformed into a feverish, heaving mass of Dublin football worship. Doherty made his championship debut against Longford in 1970, and before the breakthrough he featured on teams that lost four out of six Leinster games across four seasons. Heffernan was appointed after another failed harvest in 1973 took Dublin in a new direction. Heffernan wanted players he could trust: ideally, strong-minded types, highly motivated and intelligent. He did not chose his first captain lightly. Paddy Cullen had been nominated by UCD, but Heffernan decided Doherty was best suited. Soon after the first meeting with the players, Heffernan called Doherty aside at training and told him the news. 'I was very surprised at that,' admitted Doherty, who became known as 'the Doc'. 'I was still an intermediate footballer. I hadn't played at the levels that Tony Hanahoe or Brian Mullins or Jimmy Keaveney or Pat O'Neill, who had played with UCD — those players had much more experience than I had.' Doherty, physically imposing, strong in the air and uncompromising on the ground, went on to win three All-Ireland medals, adding further All-Ireland medals in 1976 and 1977, as well as six Leinster titles. Heffernan's personality was all over the team. 'He wasn't that interested in fancy footballers,' Doherty said. 'He wanted honesty. A good hard-working group that were big and strong and capable. And that were prepared to work their butt off for the duration of the game. At that stage we were training for matches lasting 80 minutes, and we caught a lot of teams on the hop with our level of fitness.' Doherty played in five successive All-Ireland finals and was a sub for the sixth in 1979, after which he retired. His performances in the breakthrough year in 1974 earned him an All-Star award at full-back. He captained the side again in 1975 when a youthful Kerry team caused a surprise by beating them in the final. After that loss the Dublin captaincy went to Tony Hanahoe, but Doherty remained a steadfast figure in the back line until his final year, the last of his 105 games for Dublin coming against Wicklow in the 1979 Leinster quarter-final. The 1975 All-Ireland final began a riveting rivalry with Kerry, a match remembered for an incident involving Doherty and his Kerry counterpart Mickey 'Ned' O'Sullivan. The Kerry captain made a weaving run in the first half, shipping a succession of heavy challenges before Doherty stopped him in his tracks. The Kerry captain ended up unconscious and spent the night in hospital, missing the trophy presentation. The teenage Pat Spillane stepped into the void as vice-captain. Doherty and O'Sullivan became extremely close over the years, and perhaps the most symbolic example of the friendship that developed between Kerry and Dublin despite being fierce rivals on the field of play. The two remained in close contact and were centrally involved in a 50th golden jubilee reunion in Kenmare this year. Doherty did speak in the past about the incident in the 1975 final to explain that it wasn't his intention to end O'Sullivan's part in the game. O'Sullivan, remarkably, said that the incident never came up in their numerous subsequent conversations. 'We never talk about it at all,' the Doc confirmed this year when I asked him about the incident. 'We met up and shook hands. Things happen and they happen in the spur of the moment and it's not something that is done behind the referee's back. It's a split-second decision.' They were, he said, 'the best of pals'. Seán Doherty was born in Glenealy in Wicklow in 1946. In the early part of his life he moved to south Dublin and became involved with Ballyboden Wanderers, which later became Ballyboden St Enda's. Before he joined the Dublin panel, he had played with Wicklow at under-21 level. He also had a spell as a player-manager with St Anne's. Having started out as a plumber, building up his own business, he later bought a pub in south Dublin in 1983. In recent years he remained active in helping organise reunions and was in the process of arranging the annual Dublin players' trip to the Algarve when I met him before the Dublin-Kerry reunion. It was evident how much he cherished those enduring friendships. He was a popular and personable personality. After he retired he became involved in a Dublin senior management team with Mullins and Kelleher, serving just one year in 1986. When that management team dissolved, Doherty stayed on as a selector with the next manager, Gerry McCaul. In their first year they won a terrifically exciting national league final against Kerry on a baking hot day in Croke Park, and in 1989, they dethroned Meath in Leinster before losing the All-Ireland semi-final to Cork. Doherty married Teresa Curran in 1971 and spoke appreciatively of her support. 'I was playing football, and hurling with the club, I had three or four sets of gear. And Teresa always had the bag in the hallway, one for the county and one for the club. When I was going out I never had to ask.' Seán Doherty, who died on July 7, is survived by his wife Teresa and his children Michelle, Seán, Julianne and Anthony.
Irish Daily Mirror
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Dublin GAA in mourning as 1970s colossus passes away after short illness
Seán Doherty, who captained Dublin to their momentous All-Ireland victory of 1974, has died at the age of 78. Doherty was a colossus at full-back as Dublin stormed to a first title since 1963 under Kevin Heffernan's management, popularising the game in the capital and creating a legacy which endures to this day. He went on to win further All-Irelands in 1976 and '77 as well as five Leinster titles and two National Leagues. Born in Wicklow, Doherty represented the county at under-21 level but his family eventually settled in Ballsbridge and he played his football with a number of clubs in the south of Dublin before settling with Ballyboden Wanderers, who he captained to a Dublin junior title in 1968. The club later joined forces with Rathfarnham St Enda's to form Ballyboden St Enda's, with whom he had success at intermediate level. He was appointed Dublin captain by Heffernan ahead of the 1974 Championship as Dublin came from nowhere to win the All-Ireland, drawing increasing crowds en route, culminating in a final win over Galway. Doherty won his only All Star that year. The following year, Dublin lost the All-Ireland final to an emerging Kerry team, sparking one of the GAA's great rivalries. Doherty famously upended Kerry captain Mickey Ned O'Sullivan in that final, with O'Sullivan having to go to hospital with concussion and missing the opportunity to lift the Sam Maguire Cup. There was no lingering resentment between the pair, however, and Doherty presented O'Sullivan with the cup at a reunion many years later. Indeed, the teams held their latest get-together in Kerry in April to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1975 final, with Doherty in attendance. Dublin got back on top in 1976, beating Kerry to regain the All-Ireland, with the captaincy having passed to Tony Hanahoe, who was player-manager when they retained the title in 1977. But a 17-point defeat to Kerry in the 1978 final led to Doherty's retirement, bringing down the curtain on a glittering career. He later served as part of a three-man Dublin management team in 1986 with former teammates Brian Mullins and Robbie Kelleher after Heffernan stepped down for good though it was shortlived as Meath re-emerged in Leinster that year and Gerry McCaul took sole charge the following season. A plumber by trade who also ran a pub, he managed on the club scene with a degree of success. He died on Monday night after a short illness.
Irish Examiner
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Former Dublin skipper Seán Doherty dies aged 78
Seán Doherty, the captain of Dublin's breakthrough 1974 All-Ireland SFC winning team, has died at the age of 78 following a short illness. Affectionately known as 'The Doc' in a team featuring two medical practitioners, David Hickey and Pat O'Neill, whereas he was a plumber who would go on to become a successful publican, the teak-tough full-back won three All-Ireland medals and five Leinster medals in a sterling career. Born and having spent his early years in Ashford, Wicklow, Doherty played his club football for a number of clubs in the south-west of Dublin - Ballyboden Wanderers, Ballyboden St Enda's and St Anne's. He also won an All Star in 1974. The 1974 All-Ireland final against Galway, under the management of the great Kevin Heffernan, was Dublin's first in 11 years and transformed the popularity of Gaelic football in the city and county. Appointed captain by Heffernan, Doherty had been a steward on Hill 16 for the previous year's final. In David Walsh's brilliant Magill piece on Dublin's pioneering group, Doherty said of the '74 final: 'I recall running out on the field, leading out the Dublin team and wondering whether I was running fast or slow. I could feel nothing in my legs. 'But Heffernan had told us to expect this feeling, that it would wear off early in the match. He was right. Once you got the feel of the ball, it was gone.' A youthful Kerry side led by manager Mick O'Dwyer shocked Doherty's Dublin in the following year's decider when Doherty's high tackle on Mickey Ned O'Sullivan concussed and hospitalised the Kerry captain. The Dublin captain Sean Doherty lifts the Sam Maguire Cup in 1974. Picture: Connolly Collection / SPORTSFILE Replaced as captain by Tony Hanahoe, Doherty was still the trusted anchor of the defence when Dublin exacted revenge in the 1976 final and again when they beat Kerry in the stunning '77 semi-final on their way to achieving back-to-back Sam Maguire Cups and Doherty's collection of Celtic Crosses grew to three. Doherty retired from the inter-county game in 1979 at the age of 33. He was a Dublin selector in 1986 after Heffernan's second spell in charge concluded.
Otago Daily Times
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Steel linchpin set to play 100th game
Kate Heffernan had a front-row seat to one of the great southern sporting stories in her debut year. Sitting on the bench as a then 18-year-old, Heffernan watched as her Southern Steel team-mates fought back from an 11-goal deficit to be crowned the ANZ Premiership champions in 2018. Steel captain Wendy Frew, now head coach, charged towards the bench and leapt in the air where Heffernan lifted her jubilant leader in the now memorable photo. It almost signalled what was to come in a changing of the guard as Frew retired that year and Heffernan stepped into her role. "That's probably one of the coolest netball memories I've got," Heffernan said about winning the premiership. "It just made me realise how much I wanted to be a Southern Steel player and go for a premiership. "That was definitely a pretty cool thing to come straight into." Heffernan, who was an injury replacement in 2018, was awarded a full contract in 2019 and has been the heart of the side since. And tomorrow she will run out for her 100th game for the franchise, joining Frew and Shannon Saunders as the only players to bring up the milestone exclusively with the Steel. "It's pretty cool ... to be able to play 100 games for one club. "The Steel mean a lot to me." Looking back on her early years, Heffernan recalled being stoked to soak up the knowledge of Silver Ferns midcourters Shannon Saunders and Gina Crampton. "It was a bit of a dream, really," Heffernan said. "It all happened probably pretty fast ... I do remember thinking I'm just so lucky to be here." She came through the pathway as a centre-wing attack, but when the Steel came calling for a wing defence, she made the switch. Heffernan spent her early days learning from Frew, whom Heffernan described as one of the best wing defences from the South. "Cool to have crossed paths with her as a player and now obviously to have her as a coach." The 25-year-old has grown a lot through the years, captaining the franchise and earning 39 caps for the Silver Ferns. She has been a standout during a testing couple of seasons for the Steel and, while Heffernan said it had been "blow after blow" with setbacks, the team culture remained strong. "There's just something special down here, for sure. "While there hasn't been any premierships, there's been coming back from behind in extra time. There's just been lots of moments." The Steel mean a lot to Heffernan. They backed her, and her twin sister, Georgia, from the start of their careers and have helped them grow on and off the court. "The Southern Steel have a really special place in my heart. "It's representing home for me which is pretty special. "Just the people down here. The fans, the community — I don't know if you can go many places and you get much better." There has been a feeling the tides are changing for the Steel this season — they are on a three-game winning steak and are in the playoff hunt — and a core group who have battled away would love nothing more than to succeed. "Those of us that have been here the last few years, we just want to be part of the group that turns it around. "We just want it so bad. "Having the success of the last four rounds ... and having the momentum leading into playoffs is a position we haven't been in in a while, so we're pretty fizzed for it." The Steel meet the top-of-the-table Northern Mystics in a must-win clash tomorrow. Both sides are fighting for different reasons: the Mystics to secure a home final and the Steel to nail their playoff spot. The Steel were pipped 55-54 in Dunedin last time, but they have proved they have what it takes to take down the defending champions. "For us I think it's do or die. "What's been quite cool is the last three, or four, games have been do or die and we've been able to really come together and get the results, which in previous years it hasn't quite clicked in that way. "I have the belief, and trust, and I feel quite confident that we can, which is exciting. "We know that we can do it against them and they're not unbeatable." Steel defender Carys Stythe brings up her 50th game. ANZ Premiership Tomorrow, Auckland, 4pm Southern Steel: Aliyah Dunn, Georgia Heffernan, Summer Temu, Serina Daunakamakama, Kimiora Poi, Kate Heffernan, Renee Savai'inaea, Carys Stythe, Abby Lawson, Khayne'-Lii Munro-Nonoa. Northern Mystics: Donnell Wallam, Filda Vui, Hannah Glen, Peta Toeava, Tayla Earle, Katie Te Ao, Michaela Sokolich-Beatson, Holly Rae, Catherine Hall, Charlotte Manley.
